infiniversefandomcom-20200214-history
Royal Tierran Army
The Royal Tierran Army is the land based half of the Tierran Military. Eclipsed by their naval counterparts in prestige and funding, and, prior to the Dozen Years War, suffering from a reputation as a "social club" for young aristocrats, the Royal Army has historically been forced to forgo a large peacetime force and instead rely on the private contributions of members of the nobility. In exchange for the right to maintain private House Guards and use them as a private military force in peacetime, these nobles agree to contribute a portion of their men to the Tierran Army in the event of hostilities. Organization The basic administrative unit in the Tierran Army is the Regiment. Although horse (cavalry) and foot (infantry) regiments are organized differently, both types are large, usually independent formations of around 1,200 men. Cavalry The regiments of horse are typically divided into 40 men troops, five or six troops make up a squadron of 200-240 troopers, and 4-6 squadrons then make up a Regiment. Infantry Regiments of foot are divided into companies of 80, grouped together by nines to create battalions of 720, and 2-4 battalions form a regiment. Regiments are then grouped into ad-hoc brigades of around eight battalions pre-Blogia, before being cut down to a more manageable 4-5 battalions by the time of the Battle of Second Kharangia. The Permanent Forces The permanent forces of the Royal Army are the core of the whole army that had ever existed in the military history as the regular army of Tierra, some of these regiments are fully funded and maintained by the Dukes of Tierra as well as acting as their houseguards. The permanent forces included: the Aetorian Grenadier Guards, the Kentauri Highlanders, the Regiment of Royal Dragoons, the Wolf's Head Cuirassiers, the White Rose Lancers as well as the 3 regiment of Royal Marines. During peacetime, the cavalry regiments (Dragoons, Cuirassiers and Lancers) are maintained in peacetime strengths (3 squadrons at peace, 6 squadrons at war) wist the Grenadiers being the King's own personal guard regiment are fully maintained in their usual 3 battalion strength, the Highlanders on the other hand, due to Kentaur being a wildland where Kentauri clans are plotting and fighting against each other are needed to maintained at wartime strength in order to enforce peace and order by the direct orders of Clan Havenport. The Royal Marines, due to being also part of the Royal Navy are also maintained in their wartime numbers and splitted up into their perspective companies and platoons to be assigned to warships. In which the total number of the permanent force composed around 8,000 men during the peace, while at war, since the 3 regiment of cavalry forces are to be brought up to full strength, the numbers would then rise to almost 10,000 in total, with around 6,000 of these men are to be serving in the army, as the Marines had their duties on board the ships instead of fighting alongside with their land based companions. Houseguard Commission Regiments These are the ones that made up the main forces of the whole army, due to the Oath at Montjoy that Edwin the Strong made on that day during the Unification, he declared that the rights of Baneblood to preserve and raise their own private armies are to be preserved by the law. In which he created the Houseguard Commission system, one which allowed the baneblood lords to maintain their own militias and to be called to arms when war comes. The Houseguard Commission system was based on the number of men that the perspective lords had given to Grenadier Square's disposo. For example, the Earl of Welles had been the colonel of the 5th of Foot when the war broke out, he himself, like others had maintained his own private forces. And ever since he contributed the largest percentage of the men to the 5th of Foot, he was therefore given the colonel commission by Grenadier Square, with that goes on as: the lord who contributed the second most numerous men will be given the Lt.-colonel commission, the third will be given Major commissions. However, due to the fact that it is extremely expensive to both raise and maintain houseguards. The quality of the men and regiment which are formed when Grenadier Square makes their inspections can be in different states and conditions: the 5th of Foot was reported as "up to the regulations of the Ordnance Board", some like the 8th of Foot was described as "rotten to the core" or even like the 2nd Line Cavalry regiment was reported as "nothing more than a bunch with well dress dandies with no soldierings in it". Regiment of Royal Engineers & Royal Artillery These two regiments of Engineers and artillerymen are the ones in charge of the King's Grand Battery and sappers, each battery has 6 field guns. The Royal Artillerymen wore the distinctive iron grey facings on their burnt-orange jackets. The regiment has high qualifications for anyone who wanted to join up: For enlisted men, they had to be well educated and highly skilled in mathematics in order to be able to operate a cannon, their officers corps however, are just merely couriers bringing messages to the men in command of the cannon itself, also due to the little available opportunities for advancement in the regiment, many of them were not suitable for the job of operating or even understanding the basic concepts of operating a gun. Within the army, the Royal Artillery consisted of heavy artillery pieces, while the siege artillery are commandeered by the Royal Engineers and Sappers, with a total number of 150 artillery pieces in service. Special Task Forces These forces are not being completely put to full uses and practices in the battle, as the more orthodox military sense of honour and old bravado sentiments within the army had blinded many of the officers who only seek a glorious battle instead of more logical sense on conducting a long term war. The Tierran Army also had 3 regiments of light infantry being used in practice, but was never brought into battle. After the disaster at Blogia however, with the King's permission a Major of the 8th of Foot was given orders to put together 2 companies of green jacketed skirmishers armed with hunting rifled muskets and using light infantry tactics for the purpose of skirmishing and deep reconnaissance duties, which is now known as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen". ''These soldiers however, are not highly respected in the army, as their methods the rest of the army would declared, are dishonourable, undisciplined, and to sum up the whole thing as a ''"new-fangled nonsense" . No matter how dishonourable or "new-fangled nonsense" they are, they composed some of the best shots within the entire army and played an extremely critical role in slowing down Prince Khorobirit's army during the campaign in 608-610 OIE. Commissions To ensure that the Royal Army's officer corps is populated by men of wealth and appropriate class, the Royal Army usually requires an officer to purchase a promotion once they have the appropriate seniority. Of course, any officer could refuse to sell their commission to a would-be successor considered too disreputable to advance in the ranks. In addition, promotions are extremely expensive, especially in more prestigious regiments. Even a Major's commission in a Regiment of Foot (infantry) costs some 800 Crowns , equivalent to ten year's wages for a working member of the middle class. This means that the peacetime army is populated by men of wealth, honour and privilege. Only during times of war are officers from humble backgrounds capable of earning the great sums of money needed to reach the higher ranks. However, it is not uncommon within the Tierran Peerage that the elites of the nobles would use their political influence and ties within Grenadier Square and the Cortes to get a free promotion or for the members of their family who signed up in the army, where some did absolutely nothing to earn their promotions, while some were completely inadequate to their roles. While some cases, though not a common sight where officers would be given a free promotion for their excellent performance and exploits in battle, some would even rose earlier due to their exceptional valour. Known regiments in the Royal Tierran Army During the Dozen Year War Cavalry White Rose Lancers, 6 squadrons in total (3 during peacetime) Regiment of Royal Dragoons, 6 squadrons in total (3 during peacetime) Wolf's Head Cuirassiers, 6 squadrons in total, currently with only 200 men in 2 squadrons in servable condition 1st regiment of Line Cavalry, disbanded 2nd regiment of Line Cavalry, disbanded 3rd regiment of Line Cavalry, disbanded 4th regiment of Line Cavalry, disbanded Infantry Aetorian Grenadier Guards, 3 battalions Kentauri Highlanders, 2 battalions 1st Royal Marines, 3 battalions 2nd Royal Marines, 3 battalions 3rd Royal Marines, 3 battalions 1st regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 2nd regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 3rd regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 4th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 5th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 6th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 7th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 8th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 9th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 10th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 11th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 12th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 13th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 14th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 15th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 16th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 17th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded 18th regiment of Foot, 2 battalions during war, disbanded Experimental Corps of Rifles, 2 companies, disbanded 1st Provisional Naval regiment, assorted companies in 1 battalion, disbanded after the Second Battle of Kharangia 2nd Provisional Naval regiment,assorted companies in 1 battalion, disbanded after the Second Battle of Kharangia Artillery & Engineers Regiment of Royal Artillery Regiment of Royal Engineers & Sappers Ranks and Insignia (cavalry equivalents for infantry-only ranks in parentheses) Non-Commissioned: Armsman (Trooper/Dragoon) - One bar Lance Corporal - One chevron Corporal - Two chevrons Sergeant - Three chevrons ^ Sergeant-Major (Staff Sergeant) - Three chevrons and crown Colour Sergeant - Three chevrons over an reversed chevron enclosing a crown ^^ Commissioned: Ensign (Cornet) - One gold pip Lieutenant - Two gold pips Captain - Three gold pips Major - Pair of crossed swords Lieutenant Colonel - Two pairs of crossed swords Colonel - Two pairs of crossed swords topped with a small crown ^^^ General of Brigade - Two small crowns Lieutenant General - Three small crowns General-Royal - One large crown ^^^^ ^ Sergeants usually lead cavalry patrols or infantry sections, the smallest individual units. ^^ The Colour Sergeant is the most senior NCO in a Regiment. He is tasked with guarding the oficer carrying the Regimental flag, or "Colours". ^^^ Colonel is the highest rank obtainable by purchased commission. General ranks must be earned by seniority and excellent service. ^^^^ This rank is reserved for the King, as commander-in-chief